This invention relates to diaper pails and more particularly comprises a new and improved diaper pail specifically designed to be used with a disposable liner such as a conventional disposable trash bag and enables the trash bag liner to be twisted closed before removal from the pail and which prevents unpleasant odors from escaping from the pail when soiled diapers are in it.
A variety of different diaper pails are available for use in the home for the disposal of soiled diapers. Many of them have lids that are pivotally mounted on the pail and employ foot pedal actuators to open them. Conventionally, liners are used in the pails and to place a soiled diaper in the pail or remove the liner from the pail the foot pedal is depressed so as to open the lid. Ordinarily before the liner is disposed of with the soiled diapers, the mouth of the liner is twisted closed. Handling the open liner to twist it closed is an unpleasant task. Furthermore, in the typical diaper pails described above, when the cover is opened by the foot pedal, the contents of the bag is exposed and odors from the bag liner may escape from the pail.
In an effort to improve upon the typical diaper pails described, diaper pails have been developed that include means for automatically twisting the bags closed. In Sumanis U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,526 a waste receptacle is disclosed wherein an inner trash bag holder is rotatably mounted in the pail and the rim of the liner is fixed. A foot pedal actuator is connected to the lid of the pail and to the holder, and when the foot pedal is depressed, the holder is rotated to twist the bag closed and simultaneously the lid of the pail is opened. In Richards et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,049, a special tube of plastic film is used in the pail, and a special mechanism is provided for twisting the tube closed after each soiled diaper is deposited in it. An elaborate system is employed for feeding the tubular plastic liner material into the pail proper. While these diaper pails provide improved results over the conventional pails described above, they are not altogether satisfactory. The diaper pail shown in the '049 patent requires the use of special tubular plastic lining material and is relatively expensive to manufacture. The waste receptacle of the '526 patent is susceptible to breakage because of the number of moving parts and the levers connecting the rotatable holder with the tiltable lid.
The principle object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple diaper pail that may be manufactured inexpensively and that automatically twists the liner closed before the liner with the soiled diapers is to be removed from the pail.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a diaper pail that has a special chute in the cover with lids at each end, which provides a double barrier for odors that would otherwise escape from the pail.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a diaper pail that has a "child proof" latch for controlling access to the interior of the pail and which will retain the pail in the closed condition so that its contents cannot spill out even if the pail is knocked over or inverted.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a deodorant basket in the cover of the pail which may be removed and refilled without opening the main cover of the pail.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic flip-type lid which will open upon release of its latch so that ready access is provided to the interior of the pail for the person disposing of a diaper.
To accomplish these and other objects, the diaper pail assembly of the present invention includes a pail open at the top and which carries a rotatable ring at the top over which the mouth of a conventional trash bag may be draped when the bag is placed in the pail as a liner. A cover is attached to the ring and when closed pinches the mouth of the trash bag liner against the ring. The ring and cover may be turned on the pail as a unit, which causes the mouth of the liner inside the pail to twist closed. Thereafter, the cover may be opened and the twisted closed liner may be tied and removed from the pail.
Access to the trash bag liner in the pail for disposing of diapers is provided through a chute formed in the cover. The chute is provided with lids at its top and bottom ends. The lid at the top is biased to the open position but may be latched closed by a "child proof" latch lock assembly, and the lid at the lower end of the chute is biased to the closed position so as to prevent odors from escaping from the liner, generated by the soiled diapers in it. A separate deodorant basket is provided in the cover, which may be removed without opening the cover, so that the deodorant supply may be most conveniently replenished.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing.